Owen Davis (b.1989) is a composer, percussionist, and educator based in Flagstaff, AZ. As a driven and adamant advocate of the creation and performance of new music in his community, Davis has been extremely active in performances and collaborations that serve to advance creativity and innovation in the arts.
Davis has received commissions from soloists, various chamber ensembles, and university and high school music programs including Northern Arizona University, College of Southern Idaho, and Hopi Jr/Sr High School. In the spring of 2011 his work, Brittle Black FireBrick, written for the Northern Arizona University Percussion Ensemble, was featured on a concert given by the ensemble. In 2012, Owen organized a production of his large-scale musical game of chess, CHESS PIECE, which requires a 24’ x 24’ floor installation and 32 performers. He also had a work commissioned by the Arizona-based quartet Las Tubas de Tucson that was premiered at the 2012 International Alliance of Women in Brass Conference in Kalamazoo, MI. His work The Great Wave was a winner of the Duo Fujin: Weekend Composition Contest.
Davis has been a member of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra percussion section and a performer/composer for the SOUNDS New Music Concert Series in Flagstaff since 2009. He served as a counselor and musician with the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Michigan) in 2008 and 2010, one of which included an international tour with performances in France, Germany, Belgium, and Austria. In the summer of 2012, Owen served as an intern with the Chaparral MusicFest in Prescott, AZ where he performed, designed advertising, and helped organize the two-week festival. As a student teacher aiming to develop creativity and critical thinking skills, Davis created a six-week long composition project with the 5th grade class at Sechrist Elementary School in Flagstaff, AZ. The project’s premier was featured in the NAU SOUNDS New Music Concert Series. Davis also served as an organizer for the Phoenix, AZ performance of Woldwide Vexations, which featured a full 18-hour performance of Eric Satie’s work Vexations broadcast worldwide.
In 2011, Davis and three fellow students formed the ensemble, Erasable Color, to perform both newly commissioned works and other chamber music at a high level. In their debut season, six composers from around the country were commissioned to write new works for Erasable Color's unique and versatile instrumentation. In the spring of 2012, Erasable Color in partnership with the Coconino Center for the Arts, served as curators, performers, and lecturers in a series of events celebrating John Cage’s Centennial. Davis delivered lectures on Cage’s music, hosted a film screening, and performed two full-length concerts with Erasable Color, featuring Northern Arizona University faculty as well as instrumental and dancer guest artists from across the Southwest. In the summer of 2012, the group was a featured guest artist at the NAU Curry Summer Music Camp, where they performed as well as taught classes on abstract improvisation. In addition to this short residency, the quartet released a live CD, thirteen, which features original group compositions, and works by three living composers.
As a recipient of the Pearl/Adams Scholarship, Davis attended the 2011 SŌ Percussion SummerInstitute at Princeton University where he created, collaborated, and performed with the members of SŌ Percussion and musician Dan Deacon at Princeton and Le Poison Rouge in New York City. During the summer program, he also attended masterclasses by Paul Lansky and Steve Mackey, and studied improvisation with New York artist Grey McMurray. He studied composition with German Composer Jens Marggraf, as well as doctoral students Troy Herion, Michelle Nagai, and Elliott Cole. Davis studied with Dr. Bruce Reiprich and Dr. Steven Hemphill at Northern Arizona University.